Primrose Everdeen
by lovetrigger
Summary: "I whipped my head around but it was too late. The words already began to spill from her mouth: "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"" Prim's POV of the reaping scene! R&R please! And all rights go to the amazing Suzanne Collins; I own nothing & no copyright intended!


**lovetrigger here and i'm feeling in a writing mood. :3 I would update on my other story, "Call It What You Want", but I had another idea for a story! Well, for a short story! Let me explain; The part in "The Hunger Games" where Katniss volunteers for Prim always gives me goosebumps. (I don't know why...:$) And I always wonder what was going through Prim's head during all that (although, it's pretty easy to guess ;P). And, as Prim is one of my favourite charactors, I wanna write a fanfiction about her too! So, here's the reaping scene in Prim's POV. And it's pretty long too. **

**Oh yeah, one more thing..: NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! ALL RIGHTS GO TO THE AMAZING SUZANNE COLLINS! NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED! Thank you, that is all.**

**Enjooooy! :) **

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_Effie Trinket, District 12's Hunger Games escort, skipped towards the clear glass bowl filled to the brim with strips of paper. Written on each slip of paper was all of District 12's 12 year old to 18 year old girls' names. __Effie sank her hand into the bowl and swirled her finger around before reaching into the pile of paper slips and pulling one out. I toke a deep breath, and huddled against the other 12 year old girls. _

_Effie opened the slip of paper, her scary clown-like smile never leaving her face, and slowly spoke the name into the microphone. And the world began to spin around me. My legs felt numb and I felt like someone was choking me. I blinked and suddenly, I was in a forest with the sound of cannons booming everywhere. A sickening sound. I was standing on a platform surrounded by 23 other platforms, but their owners were already running toward the silver Cornucopia. I tried to move, but I couldn't. I was frozen. I heard a yell and saw a boy running towards me, a long daggar in his hand and a mad smile on his face before a spear flew through his body and he fell limp onto the ground, lying in his own puddle of blood. I screamed as the boy's lifeless eyes stared up at me. Someone tapped my shoulder and I whipped my head around to see Effie Tinket again, the slip of paper in her hands. _

_She smiled before she cleared her throat and spoke, speaking very carefully. "Primrose Everdeen."_

I woke up with a start, a scream forming on my lips. My heart was pounding in my chest and I quickly looked around, before I sighed in relief. I wasn't in The Hunger Games. I wasn't in the forest. There was no dead boy infront of me. Effie Trinket was nowhere in sight. But the thought was still in my head: Today's the reaping. My first reaping.

I turned in my bed and saw my older sister, Katniss, sleeping soundly. I turned my head to the other side and saw my mother sleeping in the bed next to ours. Quietly, I got up from my bed and walked over to my mother's bed, trying to not wake up Katniss.

"Mom?" I whispered. The only response I got was the flutter of my mother's eyelids. I sighed. I slid in next to her on the bed, before I felt her hands and arm wrap around me. I smiled.

"Prim." I heard my mother say, before sleep toke me.

When I woke up again, it was my mother shaking me, a tired and solemn look on her face.

"Prim, it's time to wake up. It's time to get ready." she said, stroking my hair.

I gulped, but nodded. "Okay, mother."

I sat up and saw a small metal tub with steam rising from the heated water expecting me. I stripped off my clothes and slipped into the bath. My mother was right beside me, lathering my arms with soap and combing my hair out from it's tangles. I looked around and saw my sister missing.

"Where's Katniss?" I asked.

"In the woods." my mother replied simply.

"Oh." I said, cupping a handful of water and watching it flow away through the spaces between my fingers.

My mother placed her hand on my cheek. "I laid out something for you to wear."

I nodded and looked at her eyes. I know my mother's trying to hide it, but at the back of her eyes I can still see the emptiness I had seen when my father died in the mine explosion. My mother was unresponsive and no matter how much I begged her to come back to Katniss and I, nothing seemed to work. Except the day Katniss brought the bread home. Sometimes, I'm afraid my mother will become depressed again and she will disappear from Katniss's and my reach.

I felt something furry nudge my hand. It was our cat, Buttercup. I'd found him near the fence keeping District 12 alway from whatever lied in the woods, clawing at the muddy dirt. It broke my heart whenever I saw a stray animal walking around the streets of the Seam, but Buttercup was drenched in rain and was as skinny as a bone. I had to bring him home. Katniss wasn't happy about it, but I couldn't bring Buttercup back to the fence where he probably would've starved to death. After a lot of persuasion, Katniss agreed and my mother helped me rinse the mud away from Buttercup's coat. I realized his yellow coat was that similar to the flower, buttercup. Thus, his name was found.

Buttercup purred and nuzzled my hand. I giggled and reached down to kiss him on the nose. He licked my cheek, which made me giggle again."Buttercup, I don't think you'd want a bath too." Buttercup meowed and licked my hand in agreement, before he curled up in the corner of the wall.

"Time to get dressed." my mother said. I dried myself off with the old and ratty towel , before I put on the white ruffled blouse and greenish-grey skirt my mother laid out for me. An outfit from one of Katniss's earlier reapings; her first reaping outfit. The blouse was a little big, but my mother appeared with a couple of rusty pins and made it stay. Then she began to braid my hair into two braids. When she's done, she looks at me in the mirror. "You look beautiful, Prim."

I give her a small smile since that was all I could manage. I was unbelievably nervous. I wanted to throw up. I wanted to faint. I wanted to cry. For a moment, I even thought about not showing up in the square for the reaping. But unless you were suicidal, that wasn't an option. I looked at my mother in the mirror and saw her wearing one of her dresses from her apothecary days.

I heard the creak of our rotting wood door open and Katniss's footsteps thump on the old wooden floors. She appeared with her long brown hair in a braid, her hunting clothes, and her hunting bag filled with goods. My mother had filled the tub with warm water again and laid out one of her dresses for Katniss. It was a beautiful blue dress with matching shoes.

Katniss toke her bath, slowly lathering her skin with the warm water and soap that smelled like a bunch of herbs mixed together. When she dried herself off, she looked at the outfit our mother had put out for her.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at our mother with some concern.

My mother composed herself. "Of course. Let's put your hair up too." my mother replied, combing out my sister's hair, towel drying it and braiding it up.

When she was done, I was at awe at how amazing Katniss looked. Katniss didn't need any of the expensive makeup I saw some girls (the girls who could afford it) use. She was naturally beautiful with her silky, wavy brown hair, olive skin, and mysterious grey eyes. All the girls in her year must be envious of her.

"You look beautiful." I say, repeating my mother's words.

"And nothing like myself." Katniss replied. She came over and wrapped her arms around me, enveloping me in a hug which I eagerly accepted. It calmed me down for a few seconds, knowing Katniss was there. But not long before I felt sick again. What if I am reaped? Will I ever see Katniss again? Will I ever see my mother again? Will I ever see Rory or Vick or Posy or Gale of their mother, Heather, again?

I felt Katniss push the end of my blouse back in my shirt. "Tuck your tail in, little duck."

I giggled and gave Katniss a little "Quack."

Katniss chuckled. "Quack yourself. Come on, let's eat." Katniss says before placing a light and quick kiss on the top of my head.

A stew of fish and greens Katniss collected was already boiling over the fire stove, but my sister told me that was for supper. We also decided to save the strawberries my sister found and the bakery bread she traded for for this evening's meal. It's make it more special. So we drink milk fom my goat, Lady and eat the rough bread from tessarae grain. I also see that the piece of goat cheese I laid out for Katniss last night was gone. It was my gift to Katniss on reaping day. My mother, Katniss, and I eat in silence, but we don't eat much. It was one of those rare times when no one has that much of an appetite.

I stared at the dirt-stained clock placed above the stove in our tiny, little kitchen. 12:58. Only 2 minutes left. I inhaled and looked at the faces of my mother and Katniss. Katniss's face was emotionless and my mother was looking down at the table with worry. Now, the clock read 12:59. I hold my breath and count down the seconds in my head.

_10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2,1._

The single tone alarm sounded. I looked at the clock again. 1:00. It was time for the reaping.

Katniss held my hand as we walked towards the square, nodding when we see someone we know. I make eyecontact with one of my classmates, Viola. She looks like she's about to cry. She looks at me with fear. Then looks at her 18 year old brother who grips her hand before she tiptoes away.

I gulp and I feel Katniss squeeze my hand. And we begin to sign in. I stand with the rest of the 12 year old girls, hands by our sides. As more people come, I am squished between two of the snobby girls in my class. They always tease the other girls, especially if the girls are from the Seam. But today, they have nothing to say. I look around and see Katniss standing with the other 16 year old girls.

Then I heard the clip-clap of high heels and see Effie Trinket making her way up the stairs to the stage, sitting in one of three chairs situated at the corner of the stage. She sits next to Mayor Undersee, the mayor of District 12 and they exchange worried looks. I could guess why. The third seat is empty.

At 2:00, Mayor Undersee walks up to the podium and begins to speak. He starts with the history of Panem. It's the same thing every year. He talks about the disasters and then brutal war that toke place after. It destroyed a land once called North America. And thus, Panem was created. A Capitol surrounded by 13 districts. Then the Dark Days came, when the districts rebelled against the Capital. District 13 was obliverated with the other 12 districts remaining in the hands of the Capitol. The Treaty of Treason was signed and it promised us peace...but as a yearly reminder of the Dark Days, the Hunger Games were created. 24 kids, 12 girls and 12 boys, are reaped and forced to fight in a televised show to the death. Only one can live and he or she is the winner. In some Districts, people want to be reaped since winning the Hunger Games is an honour to them. In District 12 and many of the other Districts, being reaped is one of the worst things that can happen to you

"It is both a time for repentance and time for thanks." the mayor says. Then he begins to read the list of District 12's past victors. District 12 has only had 2 victors in the past 74 years. Only one is alive. Haymatch Abernathy. And he was drunkly walking up the steps of the stage, loudly mumbling words that I couldn't make out with a large bottle of white liquor in his hands. He falls into the third chair, next to Effie Trinket and envelopes her in a messy hug. The mayor quickly tries to grab the audiences attention again because he knew this whole thing was being televised and all of Panem was probably laughing at District 12, by introducing Effie Trinket.

Effie stands up from her chair, smooths out her very bright buisness-women-looking-suit and makes her way to the podium. "Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favour!"

Effie blabbles on about how much of an honour it is to be the District 12 escort. If I wasn't so nervous, I would snort. We all know she wants to get promoted to a higher district.

I turn my head back and see Katniss. She's making eyecontact with Gale, whose standing with the 18 year old boys, before his face darkens and he turns away. His eyes flicker to mine for a second and he tries to give me a reassuring smile, but I see through it. He's scared he'll get reaped. He's scared his brothers'll get reaped. He's scared Katniss'll get reaped. He's even afraid I will get reaped.

Then, it was the time I was dreading the most. The time when Effie draws the two tributes that'll represent District 12 in this year's Hunger Games.

"Ladies First!" Effie exclaims. She dips her hand into the girls' bowl, slowly drags a piece of paper out of the heap, and rip the tape away from the neat piece of paper. Almost like in my dream. I swallow.

I try to remember the words Katniss and Gale told me so I wouldn't be nervous today. _It's your first reaping. It's your name out of thousands. You only have one slip. You w__on't get choosen! Don't worry, at least the odds _

You can hear a hush of silence fall over the crowd of people as Effie walks back to podium and carefully reads out the name of the girl tribute. Yep. Its just like my dream. "Primrose Everdeen!"

It's me. I was reaped. On my first reaping...I was reaped. Snobby Girl #1 looks at me with pity and steps back along with the other 12 year old girls. They make a pathway for me up to the stairs of the stage. I wish I could hide behind the girls, but all the cameras are on me. I see myself on the screen. My legs are ice cold and I can't feel them at all, but I urge them to move forward. I can't look weak now.

I breath in and out. _Stay calm, Prim. _But my arms and legs are shaking. When I arrive at the first step on the stage staircase, my legs feel so numb I don't think I can lift them.

But then I hear her voice. She's yelling something...she's yelling...my name?

"Prim!" It's Katniss. "Prim!"

I whip my head around, but it's too late. The words already begin to spill from her: "I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute!"

And that was the final blow for me. _NO! THEY'VE ALREADY TAKEN MY FATHER AWAY FROM ME! THEY'VE ALREADY MADE MY MOTHER MENTALLY ILL! THEY CAN'T TAKE MY SISTER! THEY CAN'T!_

"Lovely!" Effie Trinket chirps. But there's confusion on her face. "But I believe there's a small matter of introducing the reaping and winner and then asking for volunteers, and if one does come forth then we, um..."

I think I hear Mayor Undersee say, "What does it matter?" He looks at Katniss with pain. "What does it matter? Let her come forward?"

I could only hear my screams. I couldn't think straight and my eyes were blurry with tears, but I wouldn't loosen my grip on Katniss. "No, Katniss! No! You can't go!"

"Prim, let go." Katniss demands. "Let go!"

I feel someone lifting me up in the air and pulling me away from Katniss. This received another round of screams and thrashing from me. I turn my head and see it's Gale. But I don't care. All I know is my sister is going into The Hunger Games. _Katniss! Katniss! You can't leave! You can't go! Katniss! _

"Up you go, Catnip." Gale says and he begins to carry me away.

"No! No! No!" I sob into Gale's shoulder. "Katniss, don't go!"

Gale finds my mother and sets me down next to her. "Be brave, Prim. Be brave for Katniss." He tries to keep his voice even, but it cracks at the end. Then he turns away and walks back to the rest of the 18 year old boys.

"Prim, don't cry." my mother whispers, but I know she's finding off tears herself. I hide my face in my mother's dress, soaking it with my tears before I finally look back to the stage.

"Well, bravo!" Effie exclaims. "That's the spirit of the Games! What's your name?"

My sister's face is emotionless, but I can see in her eyes she's scared. It breaks my heart into a million pieces and tears begin to stream down my face a thousand times harder. My sister says, "Katniss Everdeen."

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want to steal all the glory do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!" Effie chimes.

No one claps. Not one person. Not even the people who have nothing to do with the Capitol's games anymore, those who are too old to be reaped or no longer have any loved ones eligible to be reaped (the ones who bet on the tributes). Most of the people in District 12 know Katniss, mostly because of her hunting. She feeds more people than she thinks in District 12. The square fills with silence.

Then it happened. I didn't notice it at first, but soon I see the hands in the air. Everyone in the square, everyone in District 12, kisses the three middle fingers on their left hand and raises them in Katniss's direction. I've only seen this gesture done once. It was at my father's funeral. It's an old gesture, but it means admiration. It means goodbye to someone you love. It means you'll miss them. It means thank you. I can see the shock on Katniss's face.

Slowly, I raise my left hand to my lips and kiss the three middle fingers. I hold them out as high as I can out to Katniss.

"Look at her! Look at this one!" a slurred voice exclaimed. It was Haymitch Abernathy again. He was sloppily trudging his feet towards Katniss. And he was _clearly_ drunk. More drunk then when he first staggered onto the stage half an hour ago. But that seems like ages now.

Haymitch throws his arm around Katniss's shoulders. "I like her! Lots of..." Haymitch looks up for a second, thinking of the right word to complete his sentence. Then his face brightens. "Spunk!" He lets go of Katniss and walks to the edge of the stage, pointing at the us as the audience. "More than you!" He points at the camera filming his every move. "More than you!"

You can hear the collective round of gasps in the crowd. Does he mean the Capitol? Is he trying to offend the Capitol?

Luckily, before more colourful words explode from Haymitch's mouth, he falls to the stage unconscious. Infront of all of Panem. Some Peacekeepers rush to the stage and put Haymitch onto the white stretched before he's carried away.

Effie tries to shake the look of disgust off her face and regains her creepy and wide smile again, skipping back to the microphone. "What an exciting day! But more excitement to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!"

You can feel the air tense again as Effie moves to the boy's bowl and draws another slip of paper. I don't even have time to take another breath of air before the name's being read.

"Peeta Mellark."

I don't know him. I only know that he's the baker's son, he lives in Town and he's in the same year as Katniss. But Katniss never mentions him and Seam people don't mingle with the Town people. I sometimes catch him staring at my sister whenever she comes to pick me up from school, but other than that, we've never made any aquintances. I can see as my sister's face fills with dread that she _does_ know this boy better than I expected.

Peeta Mellark makes his way towards the stage. He has light blonde hair thats neatly combed, medium height, and a pretty muscular build. Probably from all those years of lifting heavy bags of flour. You can see the horrified shock on his face. Even though he tries to act emotionless and strong, he's not fooling anyone.

"Any volunteers?" Effie chirps. The hope completely leaves the boys face when no one volunteers. I know Peeta has two brothers. I've seen them at the bakery when I trade my goat cheese to their father for fresh bread and buns. But their both hidden by the crowd or hiding behind the crowd, avoiding their younger brother's gaze.

Then Mayor Undersee begins to read the long and boring Treaty of Treason. It's required and he reads it every year right after the two tributes are choosen. I doubt anyone's listening since they've heard it so many times. I can say some parts of it by memory (which I _hate_).

I looked at my sister, but she just stares off into the distance. Peeta is looking down at his feet. When the mayor finishes reading the Treaty of Treason, he makes Peeta and Katniss shake hands. They look at eachother and shake their hands. But there's something about the way Peeta looks at my sister. It's not hatred or aggression or threatening like most tributes look at eachother. It's...reassuring?

As soon as Katniss and Peeta let go of eachother's hands, the anthem booms from invisible speakers located at the front of the Justice Building. And we're forced to sing along. The lyrics are like poison in my mouth and spit them out, instead of singing them. The anthem ends and Katniss and Peeta are eswcorted into the Justice Building. I stand on my tiptoes just long enough to see the edge of my sister's blue dress disappear behind the huge double doors.

"Alright! Time to clear out!" a Peacekeeper wearing his white uniform announces. "Those who want to visit the tributes, line up against the stage here!" He points to grey stone stairs leading up to the doors of the Justice Building. I only see my mother, Gale and I remove ourselves from the crowd. I'm pretty sure Peeta's family is going to join us, but we run up the stairs and storm through the double doors when the Peacekeepers let us.

I've never been inside the Justice Building before, but it is the most beautiful building I've ever seen on the inside. The walls are made of a plush velvety cusion and a huge chandelier hangs in the middle. A white elevator waits for us with another Peacekeeper beside it. He pushes the button that's located on the side and the doors open.

My mother, Gale and I step in. The Peacekeeper follows us. "The girl or the boy?"

"Katniss." Gale replies in a tone as hard as stone and as sharp as a knife.

"The girl." The Peacekeeper repeats and presses another button on a silver plaque nailed to the blurry crystal material the elevator walls are made of and the minute the doors closes behind us and we shoot up the building, Gale squats down infront of me. "How are you holding up, Prim?"

I rub my puffy eyes. I can see that Gale's eyes are lightly rimmed with red. "I'm...fine."

Gale strokes my hair. "You've been very brave, Prim. I'm proud of you."

I nod. "T-Thank you." But I didn't feel brave. I felt like a helpless little girl. Maybe that's how the world looks at me, but I'm not. Just like my sister, i've grown stronger. However now, I feel like everything's crashing down around me and I was the helpless little girl again.

Gale raises and nods at my mother, before the elevator doors open and we walk into another hallway with the same plush walls again. There was only one door at the end of the hallway. The Peacekeeper that was with us in the elevator walks back into the device and zooms back down, while about 4 more Peacekeepers meet us.

"Line up here." one of them say, leading us towards a white piece of tape on the thick red carpeted floor infront of the single door. The Peacekeeper nods. "Go on in. You only have one minute."

My mother looks back at Gale. "You guys go in first." he says. My mother nods before she grabs my hand and leads me through the door.

The room is just as fancy and beautiful as the lobby on the first floor. The red carpeting greets us and the plush cushion walls are just as velvety as the couch Katniss is sitting on.

I let out a cry as I run to her. I crawl onto her lap and wrap my arms around her neck, my head on her shoulder breathing in her familiar scent of the woods. Our mother sits down next to us and wraps her arms both of us and we say nothing. We just stay like that. It might be the last time we ever get to hug and comfort eachother like this.

Finally, Katniss pulls away and looks at both of us in the eyes. "Before I leave...you both need to know this. You both need to survive. If I don't make it back-"

"Don't say that Katniss." I interupt. I was in danger of crying again. But not infront of Katniss. It might make her break down as well. "You'll come back! You have to!"

Katniss put her hand on my cheek. "Listen to me Prim. Whatever happens, you cannot take tesserae. I forbid you to take tesserae. Are you listening to me?" I nod.

"Good. Tesserae is not the answer for you. Prim, you can sell Lady's goat milk and cheese. Or you can trade it. And mom, trade and sell your medicines. Gale can bring you the herbs you need, but you need to describe them to him. He not as familiar with them. And he'll bring you game from the woods." Katniss explains. "But even though he may not ask for it, thank him with some kind of trade. Like goat milk or cheese or medicine. Do you both understand me?"

"Yes, Katniss." I reply.

Katniss continues with instructions about fuel, trading, and how no matter what, I have to stay in school. Then her attention turns to out mother. Katniss grabs her arms and looks at her in her eyes. "Listen to me. Are you listening to me?"

Our mother looked at her with alarm, but nodded. She must knows what's coming. I do. Katniss begins, "You can't leave again."

"I know. I won't." Our mother looks at the floor. "I couldn't help what-"

"Well, you have to help it this time." Katniss demands, her voice stern. "You can't clock out and leave Prim on her own. There's no me now to keep you both alive. It doesn't what happens. Whatever you see on the screen." Katniss's voice rises into a shout. I can hear the anger. "You have to promise me you'll fight through it!"

My mom removes Katniss's grip from her arms, anger blaring in her eyes now. "I was ill. I could have treated myself if I'd had the medicine I have now."

I gulped. I hate being reminded of when our mother blanked out of our lives.

Katniss had a look of desperation on her face. "Then take it. And take care of her!"

I inhaled. I decided it was time for me to take charge. To show Katniss that it was fine. To send her with reassurance we would both be strong as long as she would return.

"I'll be all right, Katniss." I start, clasping her face in my hands. "But you have to take care, too. You're so fast and brave. Maybe you can win."

I could hear the hesitation in my sister's voice before she spoke. "Maybe. Then we've be rich as Haymitch."

I shook my head. "I don't care if we're rich. I just want you to come home." I swallowed the lump forming in my throat. "You will try, won't you? Really, really try?"

"Really, really try." Katniss nods. "I swear it."

Then the door bursts open and it's the Peacekeepers pulling me away from Katniss. I try to hug Katniss some more, but the Peacekeepers drag my mother and I out the door and we're all screaming, "I love you!"

I hear Katniss reply, "I love you! I love you both!", before the door shuts infront of us and Katniss is gone from my reach. And all I know is that she has to return.

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**Hello again, fellow fanfictioners! This chapter's pretty long (about 5 000 words!) but I had fun writing it! I was gonna add more, but I thought I'd end it at that. I hope you guys liked it! And tell me what you think! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews inspire me. :') And i'd also like some advice on my writing too! Anyways, I hope I didn't miss any parts! **

**I guess i'll end it at that! Until next time! ;)**

**Thanks for reading and review? :)**

**-lovetrigger**


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